1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to personal grooming supplies, and more specifically to a cordless, re-chargeable motorized fingernail grooming device that performs a variety of fingernail grooming functions including filing, cleaning, buffing and polishing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Those who have manicured hands and fingernails, especially women, know all too well of the amount of time and effort spent in maintaining a well-manicured appearance. Even those who are not as scrupulous with respect to fingernail appearance practice a normal routine of cleaning, trimming, filing, buffing and polishing the nails. In particular, the act of cleaning, filing, buffing and polishing one's nails consumes a great deal of time and effort. Use of a conventional nail files and other manual grooming utensils is tedious, requiring that the user manually rub the abrasive edge of the instrument along the nail in an attempt to achieve a smooth, uniform appearance. Quite often, however, the desired result is difficult to achieve due to the tendency of the user to apply the file at varying pressures and speeds. Accordingly, there is a need for a means by which one can maintain manicured fingernails in a quick and easy manner, producing quality and uniform results. The development of the present invention fulfills this need.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention. However, several references to fingernail filing devices were discovered. These devices neither anticipate nor disclose any embodiment that would preclude the novelty and the utilitarian functionality of the features of the present invention.
The following patents describe the design and function of various electrically powered nail file apparatus that incorporate the use of an oscillating file blade to perform filing functions:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,740, issued in the name of Kim; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,916,921, issued in the name of Pesola; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,880,737, issued in the name of Tone et al.; and PA1 U.S. Pat. No. Des. 339,214, issued in the name of Eckard. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,478,232, issued in the name of Yasuda; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. Des. 347,087, issued in the name of Griffin; and PA1 U.S. Pat. No. Des. 251,858, issued in the name of Jensen. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. Des. 314,068, issued in the name of Sulik; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. Des. 312,327, issued in the name of DeRosier; and PA1 U.S. Pat. No. Des. 307,194, issued in the name of Chou.
The following patents describe the design and function of various electrically powered nail file apparatus that incorporate the use of a rotating sanding/filing wheel to perform filing functions:
Other related patents include the following:
While several features exhibited within these references may be incorporated into this invention, alone and in combination with other elements, the present invention is sufficiently different so as to make it distinguishable over the prior art.